Sourav Ganguly in panel to study Lodha Committee ruling

Mumbai: The Indian cricket board on Monday named a working group comprising Sourav Ganguly, Rajeev Shukla, Anurag Thakur and Anirudh Chaudhry to study the Lodha Committee verdict and prepare the road map for the future of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Anurag Thakur, BCCI treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry and former India captain Sourav Ganguly will share their recommendations with the IPL Governing Council (GC) within six weeks. All four are members of the IPL GC. “In accordance with the decision of the IPL GC to implement the Lodha Committee report, the four members will constitute the working group which will prepare the road map for the forthcoming edition of the IPL and related matters,” Thakur said in a statement.

“The committee will be assisted by BCCI legal advisor U.N. Banerjee. The committee will share their recommendations with the GC within a time frame of six weeks after consulting all the key stakeholders.” Shukla said the four-member group’s report to the IPL GC will then be forwarded to the BCCI working committee which will take the final decision in the matter. The IPL GC, at an emergency meeting here on Sunday, decided to abide by the Lodha Committee verdict and form a panel to study the ruling suspending two franchises and banning two team officials.

The Lodha Committee, headed by former Chief Justice of India R.M. Lodha (retired), on July 14 suspended IPL franchises Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals for two years while banning respective team officials Gurunath Meiyappan and Raj Kundra from any cricketing activity for life.